Enhanced perception in savant syndrome: patterns, structure and creativity

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Mottron, L., Dawson, M., & Soulières, I. (2009). Enhanced perception in savant syndrome: patterns, structure and creativity. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 364(1522), 1385-1391. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2008.0333

Journal or book title
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences
Publisher
The Royal Society
Volume
364
Issue
1522
Pages
1385-1391
Publication date: 13 Apr 2009 Added to AutiHub: 3 Jul 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
Publisher source (DOI) OpenAlex source

This publication is integrated into AutiHub through:

Authors

Publication authors
3
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 3 (33.3%)
  1. Laurent Mottron
  2. Michelle Dawson *
  3. Isabelle Soulières

Abstract

According to the enhanced perceptual functioning (EPF) model, autistic perception is characterized by: enhanced low-level operations; locally oriented processing as a default setting; greater activation of perceptual areas during a range of visuospatial, language, working memory or reasoning tasks; autonomy towards higher processes; and superior involvement in intelligence. EPF has been useful in accounting for autistic relative peaks of ability in the visual and auditory modalities. However, the role played by atypical perceptual mechanisms in the emergence and character of savant abilities remains underdeveloped. We now propose that enhanced detection of patterns, including similarity within and among patterns, is one of the mechanisms responsible for operations on human codes, a type of material with which savants show particular facility. This mechanism would favour an orientation towards material possessing the highest level of internal structure, through the implicit detection of within- and between-code isomorphisms. A second mechanism, related to but exceeding the existing concept of redintegration, involves completion, or filling-in, of missing information in memorized or perceived units or structures. In the context of autistics' enhanced perception, the nature and extent of these two mechanisms, and their possible contribution to the creativity evident in savant performance, are explored.

Bibliography cited by this reference

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Cited bibliography overview

These indicators describe the bibliography cited by this publication. An author name is counted each time it appears in one cited reference, so the same person can be counted more than once. Names not yet linked to an author already present in AutiHub are treated as unknown, not as non-autistic. Last computed: 2 Oct 2026 17:07.

Cited references
38
With a DOI
38
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
0
2 / 38 (5.3%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
0 / 38 (0.0%)
References with detected author names
38 / 38 (100.0%)
Without detected author names
0
Without a structured title
0
Without a stable identifier
0
References with raw author names still to review
0
References with external metadata lookup issues
0
These indicators apply to cited references displayed on this page, after technical duplicates have been merged. A reference without a DOI can still support author statistics when a title and author names are available.
Author names detected in the cited bibliography
125
From DOI or external metadata
125
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
0
33 / 125 (26.4%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 92 / 125 (73.6%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
2 / 125 (1.6%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 2 / 33 (6.1%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 1 / 110 (0.9%).
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